Pedicabs Are Where Fun Trips to the City Go to Die

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The city council is considering a new rule forcing pedicab drivers to install meters in their vehicles, because, apparently, if pedicab drivers are allowed to charge whatever they want as long as their complicated rate plans are posted — which is presently the case — they will decide to not charge a fair amount:

Ms. Rodriguez, her husband, Mark, and their two young daughters had been visiting the city from their home in South Texas for about a week when they went to see “Mary Poppins” at the New Amsterdam Theater on 42nd Street in early August. After the show, they were rushing to keep a dinner reservation on 55th Street when a pedicab driver called out tothem.

When the driver explained that he accepted credit cards and that he charged a small sum per block, they piled in. But after a trip of no more than 15 blocks, the driver delivered the stunning tally:$442.54.

That’s supercalifragilisticexpialifuckedup. The Rodriguez family could have paid for three, maybe four Times Square burgers with thatmoney.